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Review Summary

Acclaimed Chilean director Luis R. Vera helms the allegorical period drama Fiestapatria. Set at the outset of Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship in the early 1970s, the film tells a bi-layered story. On the most immediate level, the picture dramatizes the gathering of two families - all but complete strangers to one another - who gather at a rural home to celebrate both the national holidays and the marital engagement of their children, Macarena and Alvaro. All appears well (and a 'happy ending' seems imminent), until Macarena shocks herself by unveiling a dark and nasty secret harbored by Alvaro's family. On the deeper (allegorical) level, this story symbolizes Chile's sociopolitical and moral evolution from the early 70s, with its military dictatorship, to the present day. Moreover, each of the family members emblematizes a recognizable archetype from Chilean society. The film stars Adela Secall, Marcela Oscrio, Nelson Brodt, Patricio Contreras, Daniel Munoz, Tatiana Astengo and Sergio Hernandez. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi